“How do you want me to throw?” Jansen asked, in a manner a student would ask a teacher he was afraid to disappoint.

“I don’t care. Just throw it to him,” Hough said while pointing to the catcher.

Jansen, whose only pitching experience came a decade or so ago in Little League, did as requested and hasn’t looked back.

A month later, Jansen appeared in a game on the mound for the first time for the California League affiliate of the Dodgers.

Less than a year later, he was standing on the mound at Dodger Stadium earning his first save in a major league uniform against the New York Mets. That kind of progress has impressed even the most knowledgeable baseball experts.

“I can’t remember seeing anything like this,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. “A big part of it is his personality. When it was suggested to him he really embraced it. Last week was a test by fire and he passed with flying colors.

“You get a lot of guys that have changed positions and you can tell by their delivery. But he is very sound. It’s almost effortless.”

Jansen, 22, has become the bright spot in a Dodgers bullpen that has had its ups and downs. He has appeared in three games and pitched a scoreless inning in each. He has given up just one hit and struck out five without walking a batter.

Jansen, a native of Cuaraco who is fluent in four languages, had been a catcher all his life but his anemic showing at the plate didn’t have the Dodgers brain trust convinced he could make it to the big leagues. He had a five-year career batting average of .229 and was hitting .202 last season with the Sixers when the Dodgers decided to make the mid-season change.

Hough, a 25-year veteran of the major leagues who originally was drafted by the Dodgers, liked the idea.

“All you have to do is watch him for 10 minutes,” he said. “He throws the ball from his knees to second base harder than the pitcher just threw it to him and he has the athleticism. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he could do it and do it well.”

Jansen, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound right-hander whose fastball touches 97, had started hearing rumors of a possible move two years ago. But it wasn’t until last June that Dodgers Director of Player Development DeJon Watson approached him with the idea. Jansen admitted being apprehensive, but if it was a fast track to the big leagues he was up for the challenge.

Hough didn’t want to overwhelm his protege. So when it came to those early bullpen sessions he didn’t first go into specific details on how to grip the ball or proper mechanics. He watched Jansen throw a dozen or so pitches, then made minor adjustments.

The same scenario played out a few times a week, about 20 pitches at a time. Throw, then tweak. Throw, then tweak.

There was little work on secondary pitches. The focus was on throwing strikes and repeating the same fluid delivery.

“It was never really anything big. He really tried to keep it simple, didn’t want to make it too complicated,” Jansen said.

It didn’t take long for Jansen to be sold on the move. His first appearance came against Lake Elsinore and he retired the side in order on 10 pitches.

“That’s when I was thinking maybe they were right about this,” Jansen said.”

He ended up appearing in 12 games and threw 11 2/3 innings. He gave up 14 hits, six earned runs and 11 walks and struck out 19. But it wasn’t about the numbers. Minor-league baseball is about player development and it was a step in the right direction.

For the still blossoming Jansen there was no offseason. He went to Arizona to participate in instructional ball, then stayed for the more formal Arizona Fall League where he worked on complementing a blazing fastball with a changeup and slider.

His performance there was impressive enough that the Dodgers put him on their 40-man roster.

When Jansen showed up for spring training, though, something was a bit off. Hough said Jansen looked fine but the velocity was down to 91 and 92 – fine for many but not what was expected from him.

“He went out to Arizona and he knew all eyes were on him,” Hough said. “He was out there throwing 97 and 98 trying to impress everybody. And he is a guy that hadn’t had a lot of innings. He just got worn down and we had to take a step back.”

Jansen started this season at Inland Empire but was promoted to Double-A Chattanooga (Tenn.) after 11 appearances (18 innings). His first outing with the Lookouts was on June 23. He continued working with pitching coach Danny Darwin, another well-respected major league veteran.

That stay lasted a little more than a month when the Dodgers called him up to help solve the still-present bullpen woes despite having just 57 minor-league innings to his credit.

It still hasn’t sunk in yet.

“It has been amazing. I don’t know how else to say it,” Jansen said. “I am very thankful and happy for the opportunity. I never thought I would be here this soon.”

The task of turning a life-long catcher into a big-league pitcher seemingly overnight might have seemed like a big one, but Hough said it wasn’t that difficult.

“He (Jansen) didn’t have any bad habits I had to break,” he said. “Sometimes that’s the biggest problem with these young guys. They have been doing it one way all their life and they don’t want to change.”

Hough won’t forget the day Jansen got that first save. The Sixers were prepping for a home game and had just come off the field after batting practice. He tuned in on the computer just in time to hear the last pitch.

Michelle Gardner has covered high school sports and local colleges for the Daily Bulletin and Sun since 2002. She previously covered a wide variety of sports from the high school level to the professional ranks in Florida with tenures at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Naples Daily News and the Fort Myers News-Press and is graduate of the University of Florida.

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